Embassy News

President Papadopoulos: Measures from occupied north are illegal
2005-11-28 15:04:44

Nicosia, Nov 25 (CNA) – The government of the Republic of Cyprus continues to underline that the so-called government in the Turkish occupied north of Cyprus is a subordinate to Turkey administration and any legislation or measure it drafts cannot have legal effect, pledged President Tassos Papadopoulos.

Speaking before departing to Malta to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2005, President Papadopoulos said that in the Loizidou v. Turkey case, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that without a legal commission securing not only compensation but also the right to return property, the domestic remedies in the north could not be considered satisfactory as to reject a lawful owner’s application.

The President was invited to comment on the ECHR ruling earlier this week that Turkey violated the right to life of the European Convention on Human Rights in the killing of Greek Cypriot Petros Kakoulis in 1996 in the buffer zone, and that there was inadequate investigation into his death.

The President said that according to the decision in the Loizidou case, any act or measure from the occupied regime cannot have any legal effect.

However, President Papadopoulos pointed out that “if the Turkish side manages to set up a credible commission or court which will have the right to return property to lawful owners and implement it, it would be possible for the ECHR to consider it a satisfactory domestic remedy”.